My Little Boys
by LoveandButterflyKisses
Summary: A series of one-shots written about Ginny, Harry, Albus, and James, but predominately James and Ginny. I know they'll all be short, but see what you think anyway! Rated T because I'm not exactly sure where I am going with this, so anything could happen..
1. Sick Day

This is

I sat down at my kitchen table, the light pouring through the open window. It was uncannily hot for a day in early June, especially for England. I turned on all the fans, but nothing was working that well. Harry was going to have to fix the air conditioner. I would just do it with my wand, but with my teaching James and playing Quidditch, I just couldn't handle all the household stuff. Thank God my mother came once a week to clean.

As I drank my coffee, enjoying the silence in my home- for once!- James came down the stairs. He was rubbing his eyes sleepily. His hair was a bit mussed up, but then again, it always was. I jumped up, put my coffee cup in the sink, and walked over to my son, giving him a hug.

"Hey sweetie," I greeted him. "How are you?"

James looked at me sadly. Now that I was closer to him, I could see some flaws in my perfect son. His cheeks were unnaturally flushed, and his skin was very hot. I knelt down to his height and put my hand on his forehead. "Are you feeling OK, buddy?"

James nodded at me. His eyes shut. He was exhausted, too. I picked him up and brought him over to the couch. Silently, I conjured up a thermometer that will take him temperature from his ear. I knew that he had no patience for keeping it under his mouth.

I called out, "_Accio chair_!" and the chair from the living room zoomed underneath my feet. When the timer beeped, I pulled the thermometer into the light so that I could read it. The number read 104.3. Almost 105 degrees.

James had been laying on the couch quietly since I put the thermometer in, but he stirred when I got up to get the ibuprofen out of the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. "Mommy," he asked me quietly. "Will you stay with me?"

I looked at James lovingly. He looked just like his father, which made it that much harder to refuse him. "Of course I will," I replied. "I'll be here as long as you need me."


	2. The Letter from Albus

This is a continuation of the Epilogue

The night after Albus left for Hogwarts, I went to bed early. Harry told me that he would tuck Lily into bed, so that I could get some extra rest. I think that he could see how nervous I was, and I had good reason to be. What if the kids there don't like him? What if he felt like he was letting us down if he didn't get into Gryffindor? What if James made fun of him because he was in first year?

I tossed and turned in my bed. Finally, I just couldn't take it anymore. I got up and walked downstairs. I made myself a cup of hot cocoa and sat down in front of the radio, tuning in to my favorite station.

Harry sat down next to me and covered me with a blanket. "Look," he told me, "I know what you're thinking. I'm scared for him too. But I think that we raised a strong, courageous boy who will be able to handle anything that comes his way. And we know everyone there. I've already talked to Neville and Hagrid, and they both agreed to keep an eye out for him. Plus, he's got James."

I protested at the last remark. "Oh yes, he's got James. Like Ron and I had Fred and George. Harry, if he only has James, that won't help him at all. I swear, I never knew your father, but our son is James reincarnated. Albus won't have a chance with only his older brother to help him."

Harry sat down behind me and rubbed my shoulders. I relaxed, only a little suprised at how tense I was. "I know, I know," I smiled. "I'm just worried about him. It's changed since we were there. I don't want him to get hurt."

Harry laughed at me. "Ginny Potter. Your son's father is the Chosen One, the Boy who Lived, the only person to ever escape the Killing Curse- twice! His mother was a professional Quidditch player, stood up against dozens of Death Eaters, and was a key fighter in the Battle of Hogwarts. His older brother probably became the most likable first year in the entire school, and he is just like your brothers. He has a lot of jokes up his sleeve, but he really cares about his family too. Everyone knows who we are. They all know what we can do, and what we will do if anyone messes with him. Now, who do you think would be stupid enough to mess with him?

I looked back at my husband. "Scorpius," I muttered.

He told me, "Draco and I have talked about it. He won't be bothering our son anytime soon. I promise." He kissed me softly. I felt my anxiety drifting away. Leave it to Harry to make my problems seem pointless. "Now go to bed, OK? If he owls us, I'll wake you straight up. You can be the first to read the letter," he promised me. I needed sleepily, then leaned back onto the floor, falling asleep.

"Sweetheart. Ginny. An owl came. It's from Albus." I rolled over in bed, wanting more sleep. Then, Harry's words went through my brain. Albus had written. I sat up quickly. Harry handed me the letter without a word. I opened it, then read it aloud.

**"Dear Mum and Dad,**

**"Hogwarts is so cool! I sat on the train with two people I met on the platform. The girl's name is Samantha Parkinson, but she gets mad if we call her anything but Sam. Sam says that her mother went to school with you and Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione. Do you remember her?"** Harry and I both rolled our eyes at this mention of Pansy, who had basically told the entire school to give Harry up at the Battle of Hogwarts. Thank God she was such an idiot that no one ever listened to her.

**"The boy's name is Fernando. He is a transfer student from Spain, and he doesn't speak much English, but I can tell that he's really smart. He did some magic for us in the train. Just simple stuff, mind you, but I thought that it was cool anyway. We have the same birthday! Fernando says that maybe we can have a double fiesta in the common room. Or maybe in the Great Hall! Professor Longbottom says that he will make sure that you two come. You really should.**

**"When we got off the train, the three of us got on the boat. Hagrid was on our boat, so it was kind of crowded. He says hi, by the way. When I first got a good look at the castle, I couldn't believe it. It's so big! I think that I'm going to get lost. It's a good thing you gave me your map, Dad!"** At this, Harry looked away, but I could tell he was smiling. I probably should have been mad, but I wasn't. Anything to help him out. Plus, his Uncle Fred would be horrified if Albus didn't know every secret passageway in the castle by October. That reminded me-

"Didn't you give that map to James?"

Harry grinned impishly. "James walked up to me two weeks ago and told me that he wanted to ask me if he could give the map to Albus because, and I quote this, 'Albus needs all the help he can get and besides, I already memorized everyone in the entire castle's daily routines anyway."

I laughed. That sounds exactly like our son.

"When I walked inside the castle, the first thing that I saw was a ghost named Nearly-Headless Nick. He was cool, and he said that he remembered you. All these people seem to think that you two are something really special. Of course, I already knew that much.

**"The sorting went quickly. When I was called up, I sat and put the hat on. He thought a lot, and I could hear it all. The hat was a little unsure of where to put me. But when he called my house out, I was happy of where he put me. Plus, Sam and Fernando and I are all together! Sam says that her mom's going to be mad, though, because she's not in Slytherin."** Harry breathed a sigh of relief at this.

"What happened to, 'Oh yes, Albus, if you are in Slytherin it doesn't matter to us!" I asked Harry playfully.

He muttered, "Well, even if he was that doesn't mean that I have to like it. Now, get on with it!"

I grinned and read the last few lines.

**"I have to leave now. Hagrid said that Sam and Fernando could some to tea with me, so we're all going together, with James and Rose and Hugo as well. I'll write later.**

**"Love,**

"Albus, 1st year Ravenclaw 


	3. Meeting Dudley

Harry and I were shopping with James and Albus. I was six months pregnant with our third child. We had already picked out baby names- Lily Luna for a girl and Seamus Cedric for a boy. Now, we needed to find some things for the baby's room. I walked into Babies-R-Us, looking for some blankets and toys. However, before we could walk into the store, someone yelled out at us.

"Harry!" the man called. He was fat; it looked as if he was wider than he was fat. Harry slowed down, and finally halted as the man came jogging up, wheezing and panting as if he had run a marathon.

Harry looked at him in surprise. "Dudley? How are you, mate?" he grinned, then hugged the fat man. I gasped inwardly. I knew who this man was. It was Dudley Dursley, Harry's cousin. Which makes him my cousin, too. Oh no.

Dudley broke the hug up, smiling at my two children and me. 'You must be Harry's wife. I'm his cousin, Dudley." A petite woman walked up behind Dudley, with a baby in her arms. "This is my wife, Julia, and our daughter Margaret."

I stared at Dudley in shock. "I'm Ginny, and these are Harry and my children. The older one is James, and the little one is Albus."

"Like the headmaster of Hogwarts?"

I laughed out loud. "Yes, exactly like the headmaster of Hogwarts."

Harry cut in to our small conversation. "Dudley, you and your family should come over for dinner tomorrow night."

Julia told us, "We'd love to. I've heard so much about you, Harry. Saving Dudley from those... those Dementors." She shuddered. I had a slight moment of confusion. How does she know?

Julia gave Harry and me a small peek at a wand stuck inside her pocket. "I'm a witch, too." she breathed.

I was in so much shock at this point, I wasn't really sure what to do. Knowing Harry, he wanted to catch up with his family, so I decided to take the kids and drive home. He hugged me, told me that he would apparate back, and we left.

In the car, Albus had fallen sound asleep, but James was wide awake. "Mommy, mommy, who was that? Do we know them? Why is Daddy staying with them? Are we going to see them again?" I laughed at his enjoyment over meeting new people. James was just like Harry- charismatic and personable.

I said, "Yes, sweetheart. That was Daddy's cousin Dudley. Daddy used to live with Dudley and his mom and dad, but Daddy didn't like them because they were mean to him."

James frowned. "That wasn't nice. Why were they mean to him?"

I replied, "They were mean because he was a wizard. But when Daddy turned 17, Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione and Uncle George and Grandmom and Granddad and a whole bunch of other people helped him escape. Daddy hasn't seen Dudley since."

James, excited about his father's cousin as he was, had other questions. "OK, but did you help Daddy too?"

I replied, "Well, I did as much as I could, but I was only 16. I waited with Grandmom at the house for everyone to come home. I was really sad, because I wanted to help."

James sat in his carseat for a second, contemplating what I had just told him. "OK," he said. "Also long as you wanted to help him."

"I did," I told my son. "I really did."


	4. Retelling the Story

**I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in a while, but I was just finishing up school. Now that I'm in break, I will update much more often. Expect a new chapter by Friday!**

"Tell me a story, Mommy!"

This order was always my most favorite to give as a child; now, it can turn ugly for me. Making up things was not my specialty. I pity my mother, who had to deal with seven of us. I only have three.

In my mind, I floundered for a tale. Since Lily had just turned 9, and my boys were both teens, I figured that they should hear one of my real stories, from sixth year.

Sitting on Lily's bed, with all three of them hidden under the covers, I began.

"Well, this is a real story, but it's sad and you may not like it." The kids grabbed hands, but asked me to continue. "You remember learning about the Battle of Hogwarts in History of Magic?" All three rolled their eyes, most likely at the memory of Professor Binns, but nodded. "Well, this is something that happened during then. It has to do with me, Aunt Luna, and Professor Longbottom."

Lily snuggled up to me. "Where were Daddy, and Uncle Ron, and Aunt Mione? Why weren't they there?"

"Daddy and Uncle Ron and Aunt Mione were hunting for objects that would help them kill Voldemort. They got to skip school for a whole year so that they could look for them."

James scoffed. "Why can't I do that?"

Harry walked into the room and sat down on the other side of the bed. He smiled, "You can't do that because you aren't trying to kill a bad wizard. But I'll tell you what. As soon as Mum and I die, you can go and avenge our death, okay?" James looked appalled. I don't think he put two and two together for that one.

"Anyway," I said, "The three of them were somewhere in the country. I don't know where. It was about December." I looked at Harry questioningly. "Where were you at that point?"

"Hmm, December. Well, your brother had just left us, so that would have made it the Forest of Dean." Harry thought.

Albus smiled. "I love that place! We have to go back with Uncle George and Aunt Angelina and Fred and the others!" Actually, I was just thinking the same thing. Harry gave me a look, as in, We'll talk about this one later.

I continued, "Aunt Luna and Professor Longbottom and I were at school still. Our Defense Against the Dark Arts class turned into a Dark Arts class, and the teacher told us how to use really bad spells. We practiced on kids who got detention." Lily shuddered. I opened my arms, and she jumped into them. Albus sat in Harry's lap, and James held each of our hands.

I told them, "The Muggle Studies teacher told us that Muggles were mean people who didn't deserve to live."

Lily informed me, "I was named after a Muggleborn witch."

Harry smiled and hugged her. "Yes you were, and she deserved to live much more then that teacher did." Lily smiled, proud of her namesake.

I smiled. This is where the story gets interesting. "So, Professor Longbottom and Aunt Luna and I were mad at them. So we made up a plan." James grinned widely.

"So, Mum, what did you do?" he asked me.

"You know the sword that is in the Headmaster's office?" James nodded; he was all too familiar with the Headmaster's office. "Well, the three of us stole it. We took it up into the Ravenclaw dormitory and hid it there. No one caught us for a week! We were punished really badly for that, but it was fun."

James looked at me with a new respect. "Wow, Mum! You showed them!"

Harry stared at James sternly. "Don't get any ideas from this. It wasn't a game at this point, it was war." It really was a game, but I wasn't going to correct my husband.

Albus smiled sleepily. "Thanks, Mommy. You were really cool!" He hugged Harry and me, then retreated to his room. James did the same. We tucked Lily into bed and said goodnight. As I walked out of the room, a small voice beckoned me back in.

"Mummy?"

"Yes, sweetheart?" I replied.

She turned over, then told me, only half-awake, "This was the best bedtime story ever."


	5. Graduation Part 1

As Harry and I entered the Great Hall, I was afraid of going to Hogwarts for the first time in my life. Even during my sixth year, I was never actually afraid for myself, only for Harry. Now, I worried for my son, my husband, and my sanity. I worried for James because of his graduation from Hogwarts, and how he was going to survive outside of school. I worried for my husband because he confided in me that he didn't enjoy returning to his old school, because of memories of the terrors he endured there.

I feared for my sanity because I was going to lose it over my oldest son's ceremony, and big time.

A small, thin man greeted us at the door, handing us a program. We found seats in the front of the room. The house tables had been replaced with large, comfortable couches, with each family's surname imprinted on the back in the house colors of the student. I thought it was really cool, and was reminded of my own ceremony, where seven Weasleys were squeezed into a golden couch. Harry, Lily, Albus, and I took up almost no space at all compared to my own family.

Almost immediately, a boy from our own years at Hogwarts came up to us. I couldn't remember his name, but he and Harry started conversing, as if they had not seen each other for ages. Which, I guess they haven't. Hmmm.

I tuned in to their conversation long enough to hear Harry say, "Well, congratulations, Dennis, and see you soon!" Dennis Creevie. THAT'S who that was. I remembered Colin, his older brother, with a pang. He had been killed in the Battle of Hogwarts, and I was glad that Dennis survived, if his brother could not. They were too nice of a family to be killed off like that.

Obviously, Harry was reliving the same things. I took his hand and squeezed it tightly, and he smiled at me. He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could make a sound, a loud noise came from the back of the Great Hall.

Teddy was walking in, with teachers trying to prevent him from entering. He casually whipped out his wand, and the men and women backed away slowly. They all knew what Teddy was capable of. Teddy walked up to our couch and sat down next to me, giving me a small hug. "Hey, Gin, Harry," he said. Harry gave him a nasty look, but didn't say anything. This would be fun at dinner tonight.

After about a minute, music started from a band in the front. The seventh years, all sixty of them, processed in and up to the front of the Great Hall. James gave me a small smile as he walked toward the front of the room. I reached into my bag and pulled out a tissue. This was going to be a long night.

When all the students were seated, a balding, short man walked up to a podium in the front of the room. He talked for a little while, but I wasn't really listening. Mostly, I just reflected on all the times I've spent with my son and how it would all changed now that he was done school. Suddenly, I heard him announce, "James Potter will now read the commencement speech."

Albus gave me a hug, Lily squeezed Harry's hand, and we all waited- I admit it, in terror- to see what the oldest Potter child had written.


	6. Graduation Part 2

James strolled up to the podium, as confident as ever. He took a deep breath, then began his speech.

"Seven years ago, we began our journey to becoming witches and wizards. I was looking forward to this so much, and I'm pretty sure that my classmates were, too. I spent my first eleven years listening to my mum and dad's stories about their times at school. Of course, with my dad being Harry Potter, they were a bit more interesting than I would have planned." Harry shook his head in disbelief. Why would James have written this?

He continued, "I mean, I got the full deal. Ever year, something crazy happened at Hogwarts, from Gilderoy Lockhart taking over Defense Against the Dark Arts to secret organizations run by my dad, Aunt Mione, and Uncle Ron to overtake the Ministry! How cool is that?" The graduation students laughed, parents looked at us in awe, and Harry and I just sat there, not sure where this speech was going.

"However, these stories did make me a bit nervous to go to Hogwarts. I wasn't really planning on getting involved in all the stuff my parents were. I wanted to do more! On the Hogwarts Express, I was determined not to let my parents overshadow me. Maybe that's why I got so many detentions my first year. OK, and maybe second, and third, and fourth... You get the picture." I chuckled at this one. How many times did we get letters home from school saying that he was serving detention?

"Second year was probably one of the best I had. I finally got accepted into the Quidditch team, as a Seeker, just like my father and grandfather before me. The team became my family. Grayce Creevy, who was brought in as Keeper when I was Seeker, and I had the most fun out of everyone. I taught her all of the pranks that Teddy gave me, and she taught me how to use a Muggle camera. I'm still awed that these things can't take moving pictures. Just another reason why I'm glad to be a wizard!" James got a small round of applause from that one.

"When I was a third year, my brother Albus came to school here. As a descendant of James Potter and Lily Evans, I had to make a lasting impression on everyone, whether good or bad, and with Albus, I kind of made it bad." James addressed his brother personally. "Sorry, bro." Albus nodded, an unspoken forgiveness.

"I started Care of Magical Creatures and Muggle Studies that year, too. Both were great classes, and Granddad Weasley gave me a lot of help with Muggle Studies." I smirked. If you call doing James' homework "helping", then yes, my father did help.

"In fifth year, I was asked to be a Prefect. Honestly, this didn't appeal to me much. I was having lots of fun just going around pranking everyone. Then, I got a call into a certain Herbology professor's office. Professor Longbottom-

'James, I am no longer your professor. Call me Neville," a loud voice boomed. Harry looked at me and almost laughed, but he held it in.

"OK, um, Neville. So, anyway, Neville over here called my into his office. He kept me in there for about an hour, going on about how I should really become a prefect. Honestly, the only reason I accepted the badge was because I was afraid of being called back to Neville's office!" Every laughed and applauded him for that one.

"No one should worry, though. I used my powers for good- taking points away from the kids I didn't like and giving detentions to my brother and sister." Lily frowned at that one, and James suddenly remembered, "Oh yeah, I didn't punish Lily, only Albus. Again, sorry!" Albus laughed in spite of himself. I felt a tear run down my face at my children's bantering, and I wiped my eyes quickly.

"In sixth year, we were asked to choose our NEWT classes and our careers. I personally think that the Hogwarts teachers are crazy for asking fifteen and sixteen year olds to choose the jobs they will be doing at fifty and sixty, but then again, that's just me." Many of the students nodded.

"I did choose what I wanted to do, but I didn't actually tell my parents. I don't think they know now, even..." I did, but he doesn't know that. I tried to keep a straight face. He looked at me, saw the look on my face (was I that obvious?) and announced, "Well, maybe they do.

"On the train to Hogwarts this year, my seventh and final, I thought hard about the years at Hogwarts. That would be my last time on the train, my last time changing into my robes in the middle of the ride, my last time pranking Slytherins..." The Slytherins all made faces at my son, and I hid a grin. "In all seriousness, though, we tried to make this train ride the best. I was proud to announce to all of the Gryffindors that I was NOT Head Boy" -here, the Gryffindor boys and girls cheered- "And I had gotten too many detentions to keep my status as Prefect. I had no more need to be a good boy, like they all told me to, so I had a party!" I remember those letters. Harry was so mad.

"By December, the teachers were really cracking down on us. They wanted us to be sure that we knew everything we could for our jobs. In Potions, we were brewing up two potions per class. We earned all sorts of things in Charms, and even last night, we were all practicing in the Gryffindor common room." He looked around, and whispered, "But you didn't hear that." At this point, everyone was laughing and smiling.

"Two nights ago, the teachers gathered us all up here. We sat at one table, all together, not separated by houses. I started to think about that. That's how we are outside of school. I can imagine the conversations outside of school, in the world. 'Hi, what's your name and what house were you in at Hogwarts? Oh, you were in Slytherin, well, I was a Gryffindor, and also Harry Potter's son, so I can't be seen talking to you. Good day!'" Parents nodded their heads, and whispering ensued. "Think about it, though, honestly. Sytherins can't all be Dark Wizards, and Gryffindors can't all be the bravest wizards around. We are stereotyped at age 11, and no one can get rid of them until, well, ever.

"It's time now to release those thoughts of hatred and realize that they are all human beings. We are all wizards, and we are all people. Our houses bring us together with people like us, not tear us apart from those who aren't.

"As a member of the graduating class, I hope that we will all find a way to instill this message on each other, and the world in which we live." James looked around the Great Hall, pulled out his wand, and shot a strand of silver sparkles into the air. It swirled around and around as other boys and girls stood up and did the same. Soon enough, the whole year was on their feet, creating a Hogwarts code of arms in the air. James walked toward the middle of the Hall, and swiftly let the strand go. He conjured a Patronus- in the shape of a stag, what else? The stag slowly walked to the front of the Great Hall, and shouted, "Never forget!"


	7. Talks of Death

***Look, I know that you might hate me for doing this one, and I wouldn't blame you. This is kind of hypocritical, but I would hate anyone who tried to do this fanfic. However, this is something that I believe would be a key moment for Ginny and her children, but again, I'm focusing it on Ginny and James. Please, don't be mean about it, but I would totally appreciate some reviews on how you think I did with this chapter. Thanks a ton!***

I was in shock. This couldn't be happening to me. As I sat in the private room in St. Mungo's, everyone around me was crying. I wasn't even able to do that. I sat on the side of the bed, not able to move, speak, cry, or even blink.

It seemed impossible to me that Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, could possibly, conceivably be dead.

This morning, he had felt some strong pains in his chest, so we had gone over to St. Mungo's together. As he is -well, was- 89, the doctors decided to check him out. They scanned his body, and found something wrong, but I'm still not sure what it was. All I know is that my husband of over 50 years was dead, and I felt the same way.

James and Lily were especially distraught. Albus sat in shock, with tears running down his face and his youngest son, Harry, comforting him. Lily held her daughter's hands and bawled, but James had no one. His wife and children were at home. So he got up, grabbed my hands, and pulled me out of the chair. We began a silent walk down the hallways of the hospital.

After about a quarter hour of silence, James suddenly cried out. "What are we going to do without Dad?" he asked me, tears streaming down his face. He embraced me tightly, and held on as if he was five again, and not decades older.

I held him, as my shock broke through to unbearable pain, more than most will ever feel. I slowly guided my eldest son to a bench, with tear tracks now on my own face. "Look at me, James," I gasped. He sniffled, then looked me in the eyes. He was a mess, with bright red eyes and uneven breaths.

"James," I told him. "I love you more than anything in this world. I loved Harry since I was ten years old, and we met on the Platform." I sniffled here, remembering that day. "I am in more pain than you can ever imagine."

James burst out crying again, harder than before. "The last time I saw him, we were fighting. I never even said goodbye to him when we left! All because of that stupid Decree. I let my temper get in the way of my family, and now I'll never be able to say I'm sorry," He put his head on my shoulder. "Daddy," he sobbed. "Come back... I'm so sorry, Daddy. Come back..."

I held him tighter. "Baby, he's not going to come back, but he knew. The last thing he said to me that night was that he could see you were sorry, but were too proud to say it-"

"And what good does that do me?" James looked like a madman. I didn't recognise my own son because of the look on his face. It looked like Remus's after he came back from asking Har- no, I can't think his name- from asking Ron and Hermione to help them look for the Horcruxes.

"What good does that do me?" he repeated. I recoiled from his look- dead, yet more alive than I had ever seen him. "All that means is my father knew I was a bloody coward. I couldn't even say goodbye because I was too foolish to give up on something I didn't believe in anyway! It was a fight for the sake of a fight. I'm such a bloody idiot." He got up from the bench, then pulled me up also. James pulled me into a tight hug. I smoothed his hair, crying and soothing him at the same time.

"I know you didn't mean everything you said that night, love. And I know that you wish you could take everything back. But he's gone, love, he's gone." I told him. At those words, my heart broke in two. It's one thing to know that your love was gone, another to say it, and quite another to accept it. Saying it tore me apart, and I knew I would never accept it, no matter how long I lived.

James pulled away, and stared at me with the eyes of a young child. "Mummy, how could the Chosen One die? He wasn't killed when Voldemort tried!"

That was the one question I could never answer, no matter how hard I tried. The rest of my life, no matter how long I had left, would be spent trying to learn how the Boy Who Lived became the Man Who Died.

*I hope that even if you don't enjoy hearing that Harry is dead, you enjoyed this fic. Please review it, and keep waiting for more! Oh, and these are not in chronological order, so Harry will be alive next chapter! Yay!*


	8. Why Isn't Daddy Here?

Dear Gin,

I'm so sorry, but I had to get out of here. After fighting Lucius last night, I just couldn't take it anymore. He was with a couple other Death Eaters in Hogsmeade, prowling about as is normal for the scum. Demetri and I saw them and decided to take them down. Demetri got a few lucky spells in, but we only took down one before Lucius got in my head. He showed me pictures of my past. I tried to use Occlumency, but he was too strong. He showed me days of my life that I never want to go back to- when you were in the Chamber, when Sirius was about to be Kissed, when Cedric died, when I was being tortured in the heart of the Ministry. I remembered the times when Dudley bullied me, when Vernon and Petunia abused me physically and mentally, when Marge taunted me. I was shown the deaths of Fred, Remus, Tonks, Sirius, and even my parents. I saw every terrible thing that ever occured in my lifetime, and you can never understand how awful it was.

Demetri got them off of me, but I couldn't deal with it. We killed Lucius, Ginny. Lucius is dead because of me. While I know that this is a good thing, I hate it. He wasn't really such a bad person, but even when he saw what Voldemort became that day at Hogwarts, he still went back to his evil ways. I had to, but still I feel so much remorse.

This has to be one of the worst things I have ever done as an Auror. I normally try to tune out how much I hate myself, how sorry I feel, but this is too much. Draco and I had just become friends again, and I know that he broke all ties with his father, but if I was in the same position, I would still be incredibly angry if someone killed my father. I can't even tell him, I can't say it to his face. I hope to be able to face the world one day, but for now, I need to come to terms with myself.

I'm so sorry that I have to leave you and James, but I need to forgive myself. It's an awful feeling, but there's nothing you can do. I love you so much, and I promise that I will come home soon.

All my love,

Harry

I sat down on the nearest chair, gripping the armrests with all my might. I knew that it was coming, but still, this was a hard thing for me to read. Harry wasn't really the type to run away from his fears, so if he was running now, I knew it had to be bad.

I sat for only a moment, stunned, when James ran into the room and sat on my lap. "Mommy, what does the letter say?" he demanded. "Does it have to do with me?" I looked at his naive five-year-old face. There was so much he didn't know...

"Well, it's from Daddy. Remember how he didn't come home last night?" I asked. He shook his head with vigor. "Well, why don't I read it to you. It says," I cleared my throat, "Dear Mommy and James, I'm really sorry that I couldn't come home last night. I had to fight a bunch of really mean people, and they did things to me that made me very sad. I needed to be sure that I would be happy when I came home for you. I love you two so, so much, and I promise that I will come home soon. Love, Daddy." I improvised. James leaned his head back into my chest.

He asked me, "Mommy, why was Daddy sad? What did they do to him?" Oh, geez. I really did not want to have to answer this question.

I looked James in the eyes with a serious look on his face, and told him, "Ask your father. What happened was very mean, and he doesn't like anyone to talk about it. Do you understand?" James nodded with a solemn look on his face. I hugged him as close to me as I could. "Now, let's go get some lunch."

That night, after Albus had been put to bed, James and I sat up, still waiting for Harry. He had been gone for a full day now, and I knew that he needed his time, but still I worried.

James was running in circles around my chair. "When's Daddy gonna get here, when's Daddy gonna get here?" he demanded. I was getting tired of his running around me, so I pulled out my wand and cast a quick charm on him. James had a quick second of scare, then started laughing hard when he was lifted off the ground. I maneuvered him around the playroom until I was able to place him on top of his rocking horse. "I don't know!" I told him. "We'll see, OK?"

At that moment, the door opened. I held my breath, hoping that it was Harry.

"Hey, Gin. Hey, buddy!" Ron announced. I groaned inwardly, but gave him a kiss on the cheek. He whispered in my ear, "I have news about him. Let me put the little guy to bed and you can head over to our place. Hermione knows everything, and we think you need a girl's night." I breathed out, suprised at how tense I was. I mean, I wasn't, but I was.

"Uncle Ron, will you read me a bedtime story?" James pleaded. They both looked at me with puppy-dog eyes. I stifled a lugh and said, "Only one!" James screamed and ran into his room. Ron smiled, hugged me, and ran after him. I quickly Apparated to his house, ready to hear all the information.

"Mione!" I called.

"I'm in the kitchen!" she yelled back. I apparated into the kitchen. Hermione turned around, and smiled at me. "She's here!" she shouted to someone. Who else was here?"

A voice behind me startled me. "Hey, love!" I turned around, and ran into Harry's arms.

"If was awful," he told me. We were upstairs in the spare bedroom, kissing and talking as we pleased.

I held him close to me. "It must have been," I said. "But are you sure you are OK? We understand it if you want a holiday from all of this."

Harry looked at me funnily. "Ginevra Potter, do you really think that there is any way that I would ever be able to survive all of this without you and our children at my side?" He kissed my forehead. "Ginny, there is no way I would ever be able to deal with all of this without you."

I was so happy at that moment. I wrapped my arms around his neck, beaming when he put his around my waist. "I love you," I told him.

"I love you, too." He kissed me softly, then broke away. "Now, let's go back to our kids."

I smiled guiltily. "About that... gues what you get to explain to James?"


	9. Dumbledore's Army

"Hey, Mom? What are these?" James called to me. We were cleaning out the house one Saturday morning before it was demolished the next day. Teddy was coming to live with us permanently for his final two years at Hogwarts. James and Albus were sharing a room, and Teddy had taken James's while we were getting settled. Andromeda was upset, but she dealt well, and she was over here six times a week anyway.

I walked into his room, and saw him holding an old photograph. I sighed when I saw the people in it. "Oh... That was Dumbledore's Army. I was in fourth year, and Dad, Uncle Ron, and Aunt Hermione were in fifth year," I explained. I hoped that he would drop it at that. I started to walk back to my bathroom, which I was cleaning.

"So cool! Tell me more!" he exclaimed. He opened his mouth widely and called out, "Hey Al! Mom's going to tell us a story, and it has to do with Dumbledore!"

Albus ran up behind me and sat on his brother's bed. "Yeah! What's it about! Can you tell the Grindelwald story again? I liked that one," he said.

James pushed his brother off the bed. "Get off! And this is a new one, stupid! It's about the people in this picture," he said, showing off the photograph.

As I sat down next to them, preparing to tell the story, Lily jumped into my lap. "I wanna hear, I wanna hear!" she cried out. I sighed, but nodded as she continued to relentlessly plead with me.

I began, "Well, Dumbledore's Army was-"

"Something that I didn't want to do, but your mother, aunt, and uncle pulled me into," Harry said, and sat next to me. "

Sorry, love, I just couldn't resist when I heard what was going on." I rolled my eyes, but continued.

"When we were in school," I began, "The Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was a toad named Unbridge." The kids looked at me disbelivingly, but I continued as if nothing had ever happened. "She was from the Ministry of Magic. Remember that the Ministry of Magic was a really bad place then, not like now. The Ministry was trying to take over Hogwarts."

"Why the hell would they ever do that?" James asked.

Harry replied, "James Sirius Potter, watch your language. And the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, was a madman who thought that Dumbledore was going to take over the entire Ministry, and by default, the whole Wizard world." Lily gasped, and shook her head. "But of course he wasn't," Harry told her, and gave her a hug.

I stepped in, "So, Umbridge came to Hogwarts, and took over the Defense Against the Dark Arts class. The only problem is, she wouldn't let us use magic at all. Even though it was Dad's OWL year, she wouldn't let-"

Albus exclaimed, "No way! There's no way she wouldn't! Mum is lying, right Dad?"

In a playfully hurt tone, I said, "Are you suggesting, Albus, that I am a liar?"

Albus reconsidered his words. "Um, well, not exactly..."

Harry said, "Actually, she is lying. It was way worse than she makes it sound. Umbridge was horrible. She honestly was worse than Lord Voldemort himself. And don't you start that, Gin, he's gone for good," he said disapprovingly as I shuddered. OK, so I just couldn't help it. Thinking of his was just too horrible to deal with.

I said, "Well, I forgive you, Albus. Anyway, Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione had this idea."

Lily jumped in, "Well, it was probably Aunt Hermione more than Uncle Ron, right?"

Harry laughed, "Yeah, it was. They told me one day that since Umbridge didn't teach DADA the correct way, I should teach it for her. So we met in a secret room in the castle and practiced magic."

"That's where Dad taught them how to do Patronuses!" Albus exclaimed.

Teddy strolled in casually. "Thanks to my Dad, of course."

Harry said, surprised, "Well, of course. We actually have the picture of your dad and my parents in the original Order of the Phoenix somewhere. _Accio Order picture_!" An old photograph zoomed into Teddy's hands. His eyes brightened as he pointed out Remus, James, Albus, Sirius, Lily, Alice and Frank Longbottom, and all the other old members to his godsiblings. They were all engrossed in the picture as Harry and I walked out of the room, leaving them to their memories.

"Do you think that worked for them?" I whispered.

Harry looked at me and whispered back, "Oh, I hope so! If it's not, then I have to explain about the fights, and dragging her in to see Grawp, and who Grawp is in the first place, and-"

Four voices chorused, "Dad (or Harry), you didn't finish the story! Come back!"

Harry let out a long groan, grasped my hand, and we ran back to our four children.


	10. Wedding Number 1

**A/N: Normally, when people think of the Potter family, their immediate thoughts are of James, Lily, Albus, Ginny, and Harry. However, Teddy Lupin is an important part of their family, Ginny and Harry's first child. This story especially features them.**

As I walked down the aisle, I waved and smiled to everyone around me. Relatives that I hadn't seen in decades had come to the Burrow, and honestly, I didn't want to see any of them. Many people I didn't recognize, but they all seemed to have French accents and very beautiful faces. Must be Fleur's family.

I was seated in seats toward the front, with Bill and Fleur and Andromeda. Bill was in the house, preparing, but Fleur was there, and she hugged me tightly. As we embraced, she whispered in my ear, "I just can not believe it! Where had ze time flown?" I shrugged my shoulders.

"Hell if I know," I replied, and she laughed lightly. I could tell she agreed.

Andromeda wrapped her arm around my shoulders. She was getting up there in age, but still came over every week for dinner. She had spent the night at our place the night before, so we didn't really speak much, but we could both tell what each other was thinking.

The soft music that was playing in the background swelled to a large crescendo, then became a loud wedding march. Harry, James, and Teddy walked to the front of the tent, beaming with pride. The procession from the back of the tent began. AS the flower girl, Lily walked in first, in a beautiful light-green dress. Molly and Dominique glided in next, looking as beautiful as ever. However, neither of them could compare to the beautiful bride processing in.

Victoire came slowly up the aisle, nodding and smiling as she walked up past the crowds. She was clothed in an exquisite white gown, no doubt designer, that fit her perfectly. Victoire positively glowed as she walked to the front of the tent. She held her father's hand gently, and Bill honestly seemed more nervous than she did. When they reached everyone in the front, Vicky stopped to kiss her grandmothers' cheeks, then stood up straight and looked into Teddy's eyes.

"Who gives this woman away?" Percy asked in a loud, booming voice. I didn't realize that he would be doing the wedding, but since he did mine, Ron's, and Fred's, I guess I should have figured.

Bill answered, "I do," and handed his oldest daughter away to my godson.

The rest of the ceremony went by in a blur, and not just because the tears in my eyes made it impossible for me to see. By the very end, when Teddy kissed Vicky, I was outwardly bawling, distraught that my adopted son was getting married and leaving us.

Suddenly, the tent was transformed from a wedding ceremony to an afterparty, with a large dance floor in the center. Teddy grabbed Vicki's hand and led her to the middle of the floor for the customary first dance. They stared into each other's eyes, smiling with their hearts. The music decrescendoed, then blended into a new song as a smattering of applause ensued. Victoire ran to her father and pulled him to the middle. Teddy walked over to me.

'Come on, Gin, it's time to dance," he told me.

I replied, "No, go dance with your grandmother." Andromeda deserved this dance with her grandson at his wedding, this dance before anyone else.

Teddy gave me a huge grin, which mirrored his father's exactly. He had turned his hair brown to look like his father for the occasion, but had left his eyes bright pink, Tonks's favorite color. He told me, "But this dance is especially for my mother."

My heart swelled, my eyes teared, and I let him pull me out to the middle of the dance floor.


	11. The Press Conference

Who knew that this could be so incredibly difficult?

As he stood in front of all the cameras, answering reporters' questions as they came at him, I felt a pang in my chest. I knew that he didn't want to be there, and he shot despairing looks at me whenever they asked him something that I knew was a tough spot. He tried to keep up, but everyone wanted a peek into the life of this man, the man who saved us all.

The sad thing is, I could probably answer most of these questions myself, and let him get some much needed rest.

"What was the final straw for you?" He had told me that it was when Bella killed Dobby, and I agreed. She took the life of an innocent elf for nothing more than pleasure.

"Who can you say was your most influential figure in this battle?" I didn't need him to give me this answer- it was Albus Dumbledore.

"Why did you go into the forest that night?" He only did it because he didn't want anyone else to die. Enough people had been killed because of him.

Why did people still insist on asking him these questions, seven years after the Battle of Hogwarts had been completed, seven years after Voldemort had been defeated? I desperately wanted to reach out and take him, leaving the reporters in the dust. However, two things stopped me. My hatred of cameras, and the son I held in my arms.

About seventy questions flew at him per minute, it seemed, and I was getting fed up. Who were these people who planned this at nine at night? Actually, who were these people who planned this at all? I thought that we had finished with all of this five years ago? Harry was looking at me similarly to how I felt, so I thought that it was time to step in.

I walked in through the hordes of reporters, not as oblivious as I would have liked to be to their cruel looks. I grabbed Harry's hand, and he slipped an arm around my waist.

"I'm so sorry, but Harry and I have to be getting home. It's way past time to put the little one to bed," I announced. Harry breathed a sigh of relief, and kissed me on the cheek, murmuring his thanks. The reporters smiled, and they started taking pictures of the three of us.

That was a bad idea.

I pulled out my wand, and cast the Bat Bogey Hex on the nearest woman. The rest of them looked extremely startled, but didn't move. They continued to write, Quick Quote Quills overexerting themselves with this great story. I took a deep breath, than screamed, _Petrificus totalus!_ The whole room was cursed. I grabbed my husband's hand, and we exited.

"Uh oh, Ginny, you might want to see this!" Harry exclaimed. Oh great, this was probably about last night.

Ginny Potter- A Legend or a Lunatic?

Last night, a press conference was held in a small meeting room in the Daily Prophet, where thirty of today's most influential reporters met to talk to the Wizarding World's legends, Harry Potter and his wife, Ginny. This conference started out beautifully, where we got a fantastic look into the life of Harry Potter, the Boy who Lived. He gave us an inside look into his world as our savior. This article will be published in next week's Prophet.

However, about halfway through the allotted time for the conference, Ginny Potter stood up and took control. She ordered us all out of the room, and when no one would comply with her rules, she took out her wand and cursed everyone. Potter placed the Bat Bogey Hex on the editor-in-chief of Witch Weekly, and the Body Binding Curse on everyone else, including me. Officials in the Auror Department, which Harry is a part of, did not find anyone until three hours later.

Harpietta Magnoli demands a full apology from Potter for her actions, and refuses to publish anything about the Potters until she receives word from Mrs. Potter. Seventeen other magazines and newpapers across Great Britain are joining the boycott of the Potters. We wait for word from both parties.

I laughed loudly, and Harry joined me. The only thing that I was aiming for, my son not growing up in the eyes of the press, had been accomplished. None of my children would grow up and live the way I had been for the last seven years, and the way Harry had for his entire life. We were safe.


	12. That Skeeter Cow

**A/N: OK, so just to confuse everyone, this is written in Harry's POV, and not Ginny's. For this particular story, I felt that it would be better to get Harry's side of the story. Enjoy, and please please please review!**

Exiting the train, Albus looked around wildly, trying to find someone. Our eyes locked, and he ran towards me. He hugged me tightly. Since he had chosen to stay at school for Spring holidays, this was the first I had seen him since January.

"Dad!" he exclaimed. "I want to introduce to you some people- or rather, REintroduce you, since one of them says that she already knows you!" Oh, dear Godric. Flashes of people ran through my head. If it is Dolores Umbridge…

Two people came up to me. A girl who looked to be about Albus's age was still wearing her school robes, with the symbol of Ravenclaw emblazed on them. The woman accompanying her had a hideous blonde perm, with green glasses. Oh, Merlin, it isn't…

"Dad, meet my best friend Ramona, and her grandmother, Rita Skeeter. Ms. Skeeter, Ramona, this is my dad, Harry Potter," Albus told them proudly. Salazar, I hoped that I wouldn't have to deal with these people again. Rita looked at me inquisitively, and I tried to ignore her look.

"Ramona, it's a pleasure to meet you. And Rita, charming as always," I bluffed. Not about Ramona, it really was nice to meet her. But I really did not want to see her… grandmother? Who would want to have kids with that cow?

Rita shook my hand firmly, then put an arm loosely around Ramona's shoulders. Ramona shrugged it off, and she and Albus ran towards Ginny, Lily, and James. We stood for a moment in silence.

"So, how have you been?" I asked. The quiet seemed too awkward.

Rita looked a bit startled. "Well, I've been doing great, thanks. The year after the Battle, I adopted a little girl, and Mona is her daughter."

"Oh? Where's the mother, than?"

Rita looked a bit stricken, and I regretted my question. "She died in childbirth." I apologized to her, and we stood in silence for a few more minutes. After a little more time, Ginny called me, and I realized that it was time to go.

"Well, it was nice seeing you, Rita," I told her.

She smiled. "Well, since Al and Mona started going out in the summer, I think we'll be seeing you a lot more in the future! Besides, I need a new interview! The Golden Trio, twenty five years after!" I stared in horror. She held up the pretense for a few more seconds, then broke down laughing. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. You know, after that Battle, I stopped writing completely? Yeah, it just tore me apart, and I could never keep going. Anyway, I'm sure Ginny is getting impatient right now, so I'll let you go. But owl me, we must get together!"

I walked away, shaking my head. The cow had transformed into a human. Who knew?

As we got into the car, James asked me, "So, did you really know Ms. Rita before?"

Ginny laughed. "Rita Skeeter? I thought I recognized those green glasses. Begging you for another interview, then? What's it been, twenty five years since the Battle of Hogwarts? Looking to do a 'Where Are They Now' piece in Witch Weekly?" I cracked up. She didn't know how close she had gotten.

I got into the driver's seat as I replied, "Well, Rita used to be a journalist. She was a rotten old lady, and Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione and I didn't like her very much,"

Ginny cut in, "No one really liked her, but the cow did know how to write a good article." I nudged my wife, and she smiled.

Lily exclaimed, "Mum! Did you just call someone a cow?"

I continued, "Do you guys remember Viktor Krum, from Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione's anniversary party?" All the kids shook their heads, remembering the bumbling professional athlete. "Well, even though Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron loved each other when they were in fourth year, Hermione still dated Viktor. Rita wrote all sorts of nasty articles about the two of them, and then tried to pair Aunt Hermione with me! It was really quite awful." I shuddered, remembering all the events of that year.

Albus asked, "But you loved Mum, right?"

Ginny grinned widely. "I think he did, but he just didn't know how to express it yet." She turned around and looked at Lily. "Lils, I'm going to tell you this now, from one woman to another. Boys are the most oblivious creatures on Earth, especially when it comes to unmasking their own feelings!"

A chorus of "Hey!" echoed through the car, and Lily chuckled.

Ginny continued, "Anyway, we all hated Rita, but then we played a prank on her that she will never forget, and it's all thanks to your Aunt Hermione."

"Aunt Hermione?' They asked in disbelief.

I said, "Yes, Aunt Hermione. But that's a story for another day, OK? Now, James, tell us all about this relationship of yours with her granddaughter…"

**A/N: Well, that's it. Please review this. While I enjoy seeing all of the alerts I have on my stories, nothing beats having someone tell me where I've screwed up and where I've done a good job. Please review, and imaginative cookies to all who do! **


	13. I'm Just Done

Ginny Potter POV

"Well, then maybe I should just leave."

Harry and I stood in our kitchen, both livid at each other. Honestly, I didn't even remember why we were fighting, but that's not the point. This was the last straw in way too many years, and the last of way too many arguments.

Harry softened his gaze a bit, and asked, "Why would you do that?"

I told him, "Look, ever since Lily was born, our marriage has been out of whack. I wrote it off as arguments of exhaustion, because of your late hours as Head Auror and my anger at the paper. Now, Lily's ten years old. You've been Head Auror for seventeen years. The old Editor-In-Chief was fired six years ago. There's no real excuse anymore."

"Ginny, we can make it work, I promise. Just let me-"

"No," I cut in, "Just let **me** leave. I can't do this anymore. I need a break from all this. This isn't the life that I was made for, and I need to be happy before I can do anything else." I kissed my husband on the cheek, for the last time, I thought silently. "Goodybe, Harry. Good luck." Harry started to tear up, and with that, I Disapparated.

James S. Potter POV

I woke up in the middle of the night, hearing crying. That was a bit strange, especially since no one in our house had had nightmares in ages. I crawled out of bed, and went to check on Al and Lily, like the wonderful big brother I am.

Neither of them were crying. That's not strange, especially in my house. I figured that there were some ghosts hanging out, or maybe a poltergeist. That seemed to happen a lot at 12 Grimmauld Place. Since I was up, I figured that I should go get a cup of hot cocoa before I went to be.

When I got to the kitchen, I saw my dad sitting on the floor, crying really, really hard. I ran over to him, and sat in front of him, giving him a huge hug.

"Dad, what is it? Did your scar hurt again?" He had just told me about his scar and how it hurt him last week, and I was the first of his kids to find out. Dad said that it hadn't hurt him in almost 20 years, but I figured it couldn't hurt to check.

Dad grabbed on to me, and I held him while he shook. To be honest, this scared me. A lot. Dad never acted like this. Not at Uncle Fred's 15 year memorial, not at Grandma and Granddad's 30 year memorial dinner, never.

When the tears let up a bit, he managed to choke out, "Mum's gone." I froze in shock. Mum… my mother… she couldn't be gone. Dad must be lying. I thought this, but when Dad looked at me, I knew it was the truth. Mum had left us.

It's not like I didn't have an idea that something was coming, but I still hated it. I had heard all the late night bickerings, but I hoped that it was nothing.

Now, I knew that it was way more than that.

When we had both finished bawling, Dad stood up and helped me off the ground. He took a deep breath, then told me, "James, we can't do anything about it, but continue to live our lives. You understand this, right?" I nodded slowly.

He sighed. "Good. Now, we should both try to fall asleep. Let's get back to bed, shall we?"

I started to walk back to bed, but stopped to say, "I love you, Dad."

Dad walked over to me, and scooped me up in a hug. He replied, "I love you too, James."


	14. The Awful Letter I'm Just Done Pt 2

A/N: Who saw Harry Potter last week? I absolutely loved it, and Lily and Sev (Yeah, I refer to Snape like that!) made me cry so hard! However, there was one scene that I was so mad that they cut out! Three guesses which one...

Ginny Potter POV

The last place I thought an owl would come was the middle of the woods in Pennsylvania, USA, but an owl arrived for me. There was no address on the outside of the envelope, but I vaguely recognized the owl, so I opened the letter. No undiluted bubotuber pus swelled out, so I figured it was a good sign.

There were two pieces of paper that fell out of the envelope. The first was a Howler. I gasped in shock. Who would send me a Howler? In order to rid myself of the messy explosion that would occur, I opened it.

Neville's voice projected across the campsite. "Ginny, it's been three weeks. The kids and Harry are a mess. They've been staying at Arthur and Molly's place because Harry just can't do it by himself, or at least, not in Molly's eyes. Last week, I thought that James was passing notes in class, so I confiscated his parchment. Turns out, he was writing this." With that, the envelope snarled at me, and tore itself up.

Astonished, I opened the other piece of paper. It was my own personal stationary from home, and did not talk or do anything else out of the ordinary. Intrigued, I began to read.

Dear Mum,

It's been three weeks since you left us. Right after you left, I found Dad on a heap in the kitchen, looking pathetic. He told me what had happened, and I was scared. I thought that you weren't ever going to come home, and I guess I was right.

Dad told Al the truth, and he's been awful about it. He doesn't leave the common room except for lessons, and even then he ditches about a class a day. Neville knows what's going on, and he told the other teachers,so they understand, but no one likes it. Lily only knows that you're gone, and that you couldn't bring her to the train to say goodbye. In the end, Dad had to go to Hogwarts with her on the train so that she would go.

Lily got sorted into Slytherin, and she's kind of happy about it. Since a Potter got sorted into the Snake house, everyone's been tons nicer to them. It's been great, and Hogwarts has been loads better and way more fun. Even the teachers are being way nicer to us all!

We stayed at Grandmum and Granddad Weasley's house for the rest of the term. Mostly, Lily and I went out and played one-on-one Quidditch, Albus ran around with Grandad and Grandmum, and Dad stayed in his room. I think that Grandmum is a bit annoyed at you, to be honest. Al told me that she keeps muttering your name and some really bad words when they're out.

Dad hardly talks to us. For the first couple of weeks, he made an effort to act normal for us, but now all he does is work and sleep, sleep and work. His heart's broken. Lily and Al don't sleep at night, and most of the time they sleep with me. We've all become way closer, and I think that's the only good part about you leaving.

I'm not asking you to come back- if you don't love us enough, then I really don't care anymore- but you should know what's going on with YOUR OWN FAMILY.

Have a nice life,

James S. Potter

_Oh bloody hell,_ I thought._What have I done?_


	15. I'm Coming Home I'm Just Done Pt 3

**Disclaimer: If I were the owner of all things Harry Potter, Fred would not have died. Luna and Neville would have gotten together. Dramione would not have to be classified AU. Dobby wouldn't have died, and I would consider having him kill Bellatrix, except for the fact that my favorite line in the whole series is "Not my daughter, you bitch!" And above everything, I would have spared the life of Cedric Diggory.**

**A/N: So, this was fun to write. Thanks for all of the, "NOOOO! GINNY CAN'T BE LEAVING!" reviews. This honestly is all coming to me at like one in the morning, so if it's a little shaky I apologize. **

**Also, I believe that this will be the last update on this story for a while, because I am starting a new FanFiction! This one is called What Have I Gotten Into? and it features Lily and James! I hope that you all read it and love it! Please keep looking for updates, because I may still work on this one, just not all the time. Thank you!**

Harry Potter POV

Godric, this is insane. I need to get up and be a father to my children. Ginny wouldn't want me to sit around at her mother's place and mope.

It's absolutely awful that I had resorted to talking about her as if she was dead, but it was the only thing I could do. Knowing that she was out there somewhere killed me, and it was better if she was dead. It was better for my children.

I got out of bed- noting that it was two in the afternoon, of course- and walked down the kitchen, ready to fix myself some pancakes. As I went down to the first floor, I heard some footsteps. As no one was home- Molly and Arthur had taken everyone out for a picnic- I pulled out my wand.

"Show yourself!" I called out. I heard someone gasp.

A voice asked me, "Who is it?" She sounded very familiar…

I waited a second, then responded, "Harry Potter. Who is this?"

Instead of answering, she walked into the room. My breath caught.

"My name is Ginevra Potter, formerly Weasley. My Patronus is a Doe. The last thing that you ever said to me before you died was "You're sure they said a bathroom?" We were talking about Ron and Hermione's whereabouts, and they meant the Chamber of Secrets. And I regretted leaving my wonderful children more than almost anything in the word. The only thing I regret more is leaving you."

At that, I walked over to her and gathered her in my arms, pressing a kiss to her sweet lips, which I had not tasted in too long. We stayed connected together for minutes, hours, days- I wasn't exactly sure. All I knew was that my Ginny, my wife, was back.

We stood there for an amount of time I failed to keep track of, but the sky outside turned from light to dark. The sunset looked even more beautiful with my wife there to watch it with me, and we were always connected, whether by hands, arms, or lips. Molly and Arthur told me that they would be home late, so we relished the time alone, the time together.

As the clock struck nine, I heard a noise on the wall. The special Weasley clock, which shows the whereabouts of each of the original nine Weasleys, was moving Arthur and Molly's "hands" to "traveling", and not soon after, "home". Sure enough, I heard the bustling noises of the five outside. I motioned for Ginny to be silent, then walked to the door and opened it for my mother-in-law.

"How was the picnic, guys?" I asked them.

Al looked at me questioningly, but responded, "It was fun. Since when do you get out of bed?" I groaned inwardly. This is exactly what I deserve, but it was painful to hear all the same.

Ginny was still hidden out of view, but she said aloud, "Since I decided to come home." With that, she walked into the foyer, to the shock of the family.

Ginny POV

"Since I decided to come home," I said determinedly, and walked into eyesight of my parents and children. OK, so that was definitely a risky move. If what James said was right, than my mum was about to kill me. Apparently, James had no such intentions.

"Mum!" he cried, rushing to give me a hug. I scooped him up tightly, embracing my eldest child with all my strength. Albus followed soon after, and the three of us laughed and cried, all at the same time.

After a tearful moment or two, I looked around. "Where's Lily?" I asked my mum.

She glanced at me, obviously angry, and said, "Ginevra Molly Wea-"

I glared at my mum. "In case you haven't figured it out yet, Mother, it's Ginny **Potter. **I married Harry almost twenty years ago, and as far as I know, he hasn't filed a divorce. Hell, I don't think it's even possible for wizards. I know you don't approve of what I did, and now I know that it was a terrible mistake. But it was a mistake I had to make at the time. I'm a grown woman. Let me make the mistakes I make without judging me."

Mum's gaze softened a bit, but her tone was still hard. "Don't be ridiculous, Ginny, I wouldn't do that. Your daughter is in the backyard, I believe writing to a girl she met at school. Now, I have to clean up." With that, she bustled out of the foyer in a huff, but I knew it was an act. I turned to my father in despair.

He stared me down and said pointedly, "It doesn't matter to me what mistakes you make, Gin, just that you don't repeat them. Not when they're this important." He left me, too, and it was just Harry, the boys, and me.

Al asked me deploringly, "Mum, why did you have to leave?" A sob caught in my throat. Tears flooded my eyes, and escaped against my will. When James saw this, he rushed to hug me again, and no one else asked me anything.

Soon after, Lily walked into the room. "Daddy, I found…" she trailed off.

I whispered, "Lily-flower. I'm home." My daughter rushed into my arms, sobbing with me. We cried until there were no tears left.

Lily stared at me in desperation. "You missed my first day at school. You didn't walk me to the train. When I got sorted, I couldn't owl you to say that I got into Slytherin, because I didn't know where you were. When older Slytherins teased me in the beginning of the year, I couldn't ask you for advice on what to do. Why didn't you stay and help me? What did I do?" A new batch of tears crept into my eyes.

"Oh, sweetheart, you didn't do anything. I was being so incredibly, completely stupid. I'm so sorry. But, I did know that you were sorted into Slytherin. Your brother told me." I smiled at James, and he threw his hands in the air.

"That arsehole! Longbottom told me that he wasn't going to tell anyone about that letter! And then he sends it to you! I wasn't actually going to send that to you, you know, right?" James babbled. I laughed, not bothering to contradict him for calling Neville an arsehole, and clutched him to my chest, reaching for the rest of them as well. Squished in with the rest of my family, my heart finally felt complete. I was so incredibly stupid for leaving them.

"Er, Mum?" James asked. "I hate to be a bother and break up the loving scene here, but can we go to the Three Broomsticks for dinner?"

Lily shoved her brother. "Dinner? You just ate!"

James replied, "Yeah, but I'm hungry again!"

"Prat," Al muttered.

" Guys. Seriously, cool it." Harry warned.

James laughed. "Siriusly, that's my name!" Al attemped to push him over, but James was like a rock. Al exerted so much force that HE toppled onto Lily, who immediately screamed at started punching him. Harry and I glanced at each other, than reached over and pulled the two off the floor and apart from each other.

In other words, life in the Potter family was completely normal once again.


End file.
